


AVERUS

by tocasia



Series: Our Shining Past [33]
Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: AU, Chocobos, Gen, IceCream, Sephiroth and Zack friendship, bad day, emotions are tough, golden shiny wire of hope, good for morale, real villains have mothers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2019-02-01 12:21:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12704892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tocasia/pseuds/tocasia
Summary: In which Zack takes on a little more than is wise.(79. greed) for Seph&Zack Friendship 100 Themes





	AVERUS

**Author's Note:**

> _"Everyone climbed up this wire. Looks scary......Brrr."_ \- FFVII
> 
> That's what the kid next to the golden shiny wire of hope in Sector 6 says. Graffiti on the wall behind says 'AVERUS', perhaps a misspelling of 'avarice', likely a reference to Shinra's corporate greed.

If only there were more hours in the day. Then he wouldn't have to come here after dark. Although, the clandestine nature of his visits was kinda exciting....

Zack opened the bag of dried fruit treats and offered her favorites on his flattened palm so she wouldn't bite him by mistake.

She picked at the treats and ate them, and begged for more attention.

"Yeah, I know, I know girl. S'ok." He gently stroked her feathers; she nuzzled his cheek and nibbled his hair. He stayed still so her affectionate preening wouldn't accidentally take off an ear.

"I gotta go now, but I'll be back tomorrow, I promise."

"Kweh?"

* * *

The cost of living in Midgar was high. Food, water... so many of the basic necessities had to be imported from far away. People who came to seek their fortunes often had to sacrifice their dreams. Trapped, hopeless, bled dry, names became numbers. It was no wonder there were slums under the Plate. That's the kind of place it was. Born from Mako, sucked out of the earth.

Every drop of President Shinra's power was bought with tainted lucre.

* * *

Sephiroth didn't care.

He was working on a budget report. Everything was in order. Except....

"Lieutenant General Fair! Get in here!"

"Sir." Zack appeared from the adjacent office looking slightly ruffled.

"Explain this." Sephiroth pointed to one line. Zack leaned in closer to see.

"Yessir. I took a whole squad of Thirds out to icecream."

"But shouldn't that have come out of your personal account?"

"It was good for morale," Zack said.

Ha! It probably was. "In that case, I see that our most magnanimously beneficent employer, the glorious Shinra Corporation, has graciously agreed to pay for it after all, as well as similar expeditions in future at my discretion."

"Sweet!"

"Bring me some next time. With hot fudge."

"Yessir!"

* * *

Things did not go so smoothly a week later.

Zack wasn't thinking clearly. He had too much on his plate and not enough sleep. On top of everything else, his motorcycle had been totaled through no fault of his own and he was too broke to fix it. How had that happened? He was supposed to be _good_ at managing things, dammit! It was his Hades-forsaken _job!_

He slammed his half-full coffee mug down on the General's desk, denting the wood and creating thin cracks of defiance near the handle. Fine. Let it crack.

Sephiroth, who was also up to his neck in paperwork, noticed his sour mood. He'd have to be dead not to. "What's wrong, Zack?"

An overwhelming mountain of annoyances. It was one of those days. "A whole hell of a lot!"

Sephiroth gave him a sympathetic look. "Care to elaborate?"

Where could he even _start?_

He knew it was terribly stupid, but honest-to-Gaea it was on his mind and everything had already gone to shit and he really shouldn't, it could only make it worse but, "Dammit, Seph, I don't want your pity! What would you know? You make so much more than I do!"

Oh #$%*. He'd said it anyway.

"No, we get paid the same amount for our ranks," Sephiroth informed him, calmly.

Oh really. "Oh really."

"The rest is unsolicited bribes so that I don't kill everybody in the building."

Sephiroth had said it with a straight face. Shit.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Maybe." The General glanced again at the report he was reading. "Are you saying you want a cut?"

What could he _possibly_ say to that?

Stunned out of most of his irrational anger, Zack settled on a meekly neutral "No, sir."

"I'm sure you're aware you could do the same."

"But I wouldn't. Kill everyone, I mean."

"Why?"

Had Seph seriously just asked him that? ...yes, he had, and with that tone of voice that instantly took him back to his SOLDIER training days and _demanded_ a response. So, uh, the answer General Sephiroth would want would be something like....

"It would serve no purpose. Sir."

"Exactly. As this discussion no longer does. I suggest you get your emotions under control before you speak to me again. You are dismissed."

Zack hurriedly left the General's office while observing the recommended silence. Phew! It was a damn good thing they were friends.

* * *

Alone in peace, Sephiroth mentally retraced the conversation. He'd handled it well, although Jenova disagreed with him on one small detail.

_There_ is _a purpose it could serve..._

She showed him what it was. Such a gentle reminder, like any other mother might bend down and help her child tie a shoe.

What? ...using their spirit energy to...? Mother, that's ridiculous.

She was patient and forgiving in her frustration until his lack of comprehension forced her to alarm. The images flashed through his mind faster. She sent him pressure and dizziness and vertigo and ...pain, bliss, fear... _Want._ The greater picture was still blurry; instinctively, he tried to focus.

Like materia growth? But that... if that's true then...

Sephiroth thought about all the materia he'd mastered during the war and felt a little sick.

Then... Wutai should have been enough.

_It was._

No, he couldn't trust that. For all her vast knowledge and good intentions, Jenova was an unreliable source. He pushed her whispering, pleading presence away, along with new questions like what it meant when certain weapons were advertised as having double growth.

He could explore the idea later, could give her the benefit of the doubt. Because if lives weren't truly wasted....

* * *

That was not the end of it. Only a week had passed.

"Lieutenant General Fair!"

"Sir!" Zack was suddenly in front of his desk. Fair's response time was admirable; he must've anticipated the need to make excuses.

"Zack, this is a bill for groceries. And one for socks, as if I needed any more evidence that the rainbow socks were your fault. Why are you using company money this way?"

Zack hesitated. Oh? He hadn't had an explanation prepared?

Sephiroth continued, "I know you're not buying the entirety of Unit 7 a round of drinks, not after last month. So where does the gil from your paycheck go, that you must resort to this?"

Zack's understandable offense at his prying was unimportant. He ignored it.

"Tell me what's going on so I can help."

Appropriately shocked at his kindness, Zack did, overflowing with sincerest apologies for not mentioning it sooner. His friend's pained guilt notwithstanding, it was adorable.

"Chocobos. That explains it." Zack did not otherwise make errors in serious matters or he'd never have earned his rank. "Will you show me?"

Some of Zack's cheerfulness returned. "Sure you can see them! Well, her. I've only got one so far."

Sephiroth pushed his chair back and stood up. "Then, let's go see her."

* * *

Zack led the way. Sephiroth could hardly get a word in during the walk.

"I'm renting the stables. But I don't want to move her, because it's really cool, she taught the other ones to dance!"

That was strangely plausible.

"And it's close by, so I can visit easily."

It wasn't, though. Which partially accounted for his friend's tiredness. Heh. He hadn't expected Zack's exhausting late nights to be so innocent. "The military stables are closer."

"She's a retired vet, and a rescue. She doesn't seem too traumatized, she just didn't have a place to go. I thought maybe...."

Zack tactfully listed off several happy benefits of peacetime for chocobos. He had a point.

"I can't give her anything but the best, you know? There's a guy way up north in the middle of nowhere who's got the good stuff. Premium quality greens, guaranteed fresh. It's the shipping fees that cleared me out."

That would do it, sure enough.

"The other retailers... they spell the names of greens all different ways so it's really hard to tell what you're getting...."

At last, they reached their destination.

"Seph, this is Choco. Choco, Seph. Hey, don't laugh, it's traditional."

"I wasn't going to."

Choco regarded him with no particular interest. Out of habit, Sephiroth gave the old Army signal for her to bow her head so he could run a hand through her soft feathery crest. He remembered too late that she might not like that. But she didn't seem bothered by it. She was in very good condition and obviously adored her keeper. Not surprising, considering how lovingly Zack cared for her.

Perhaps unnerved by his silence, Zack apologized again. "I knew it'd be expensive, but I couldn't just abandon her, you know?"

"Of course. We do not leave our fellow soldiers behind."

Zack always wanted to help. Was it greed if the cause was a worthy one?

Sephiroth said, "Don't worry about the costs, Zack. You are forgiven."


End file.
